Moments In Time
by Tori-T-Face
Summary: AU: Abducted as a child Cloud grows up in the labs. There for the birth of someone dear to him he vows to protect them at all costs no matter the price to himself. OOC FemSeph ChracterDeath requested by BillyZhao.


**Moments in Time**

_AN: This was a request from __BillyZhao. I hope you like it. This is the first time I've ever done something like this so you'll have to keep an open mind. This is an AU with OOC. UnBETAed._

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**First Moment**

When I was little I remember men in black suits coming into my home and taking me away from my mother and father. We had lived in a small mountain village called Nibelheim at the bottom of the Nibel Mountains. The men took me to the Shinra Mansion at the edge of the village and down into a hidden lab deep in the basement. Once there they threw me into a cell leaving me there for days without food or water. Looking back I assume they did it to keep me weak and unable to fight back.

I remember that the Professor came in, dragged me into the main lab and strapped me down to a table. There were scientists surrounding me, all of them wearing white coats except one who was dressed in another black suit, his hair was black and I couldn't help but notice that he looked highly disapproving of what was happening around him. There was also a woman who stood out to me mainly for the reason that her stomach was heavily swollen and seemed to cause her some discomfort. Professor Hojo then proceeded to stab me with needles and slice my skin open with knives and scalpels taking samples.

It was the worst day of my life.

I don't remember how long I was there for; time became a blur, something that didn't matter anymore.

There on in began a schedule of being thrown into my cell, food being pushed under my door, rest, being dragged back out, experiments and repeat.

One day that will always remain with me started with me going back to my cell, being thrown onto the dusty cold floor with open wounds, crying out in pain. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry for some reason, there was a lot of shouting and there was a woman screaming.

I remember limping over to my cell door, lifting myself up by grabbing the bars in the door window and looking out into the room. The woman with the swollen stomach was the one screaming in seemingly excruciating pain. She was sitting up on the table with her back to me, legs spread and the Professor between them. The other scientists were helping him by handing him tools when he asked for them. The man in the black suit was standing by the door his eyes not on the woman but on me. It seemed as if he didn't want to look at what was happening. I knew that he had feelings for the woman having seen them together talking when they thought no one was around them.

I think he was looking at me so that he didn't have to see how much pain she was in even though he had to listen to it.

After about an hour or two there was a new sound in the room, the cry of a baby. Once the baby was out of the woman the Professor took the child to another side of the room, closer to me, to check the child over, leaving the care of the lady to the other scientists.

"It's a girl." I heard the Professor whisper to himself in shock; he must have been expecting a boy then. He frowned for a few moments in thought. "I shall name you Serafina. If you were a boy Sephiroth would have been more fitting but alas I can't change your sex now that you are out. If you were still in the womb it would have been simple."

That was the day that changed my life again but this time it was for the better.

**Second Moment**

For as long as I can remember it has been this way, me sitting here watching as the Professor experimented on her, not being able to lift a finger to help her. It was completely out of my control.

He always chose to experiment on her after he had finished with me, he learnt his lesson after the first time when I escaped and tried to suffocate him with my bare hands. Unfortunately the other scientists managed to knock me out and put me back into my cell. Ever since then he always made sure that I was unable to move before he started experimenting on her.

Years had passed since Serafina was born and a lot had happened since: the man (who I later learnt was something called a Turk) Vincent, had been experimented on by Hojo and disappeared not long after; the lady he was fond of disappeared too leaving Serafina behind in the clutches of Hojo.

I was the only one left to look after her.

We came to rely on one another, she kept me sane and I kept her as safe and cared for as it was possible to be down here in Hojo's lab.

Right now I am lying in our cell on the floor where they had thrown me, listening to Sepafina's screams and moans of pain as Hojo tried a new experiment on her. It was torture to me every time he did this and the worst thing is that he knows how much this hurts us both.

Every day I have to watch as Sepafina's emotions are repressed, she's becoming colder and colder and tells me less and less. I try as hard as I can to show her she doesn't always need to be so closed off but I fear that I am failing her in that respect. One of my greatest fears is that she will become completely closed off from her emotions and the emotions of those around her.

Eventually when she turned sixteen she was deemed ready and was sent outside for the first time in her life to fight as a General in the Wutai War. I was forced to watch as she walked away from me, her Katana in hand and silver hair cascading down her back swishing with her every movement.

**Moment 3**

The next time I saw her was when I was moved from the Nibelheim lab to the labs in Midgar. She came with the Professor when he came to collect me. She was there acting as a guard for him, there to protect him from the fiends on the journey and from myself.

As I look at her I can tell that Shinra has changed her, she looks more closed off than ever and I can't tell if she remembers me or not. Her expression is indifferent as she looks at me.

It has been such a long time and I have grown older, the stress of the continued experiments on me has taken their toll on me and my appearance, my hair is thinner, I am thinner, paler, black bags under my eyes and I am covered with scars. I look like a monster yet she looks like an angel, perfect skin, perfect hair, eyes and nose.

I don't know how much time has passed but she looks taller, older and not the little teenage girl that walked out of the labs for the first time all those years ago. She is an adult now and so much stronger than she was.

On the journey to Midgar she sits in the front of the vehicle so I don't get the chance to talk to her. I don't even know if I can talk anymore, all of the screaming done in the labs has damaged my vocal chords, so I content myself to looking at her. She looks so strong now, so in control of herself and yet she looks so _lonely_.

I feel the guilt wash through me as she looks out of the window at the passing landscape, her hair falling over her face shielding her beautiful eyes from view. Something I have always found interesting about Serafina is her eyes, such a hypnotising green with cat slit pupils. When she was younger she was always telling me how much she envied my eyes, telling me how blue they are, how she longed to have them. I was always telling her how much I wished I had her eyes. To be honest though I don't think her eyes would ever suit anyone as well as they suit her, almost as if they were designed to go on her face and no one else's.

She is dressed in a black leather coat, a white tank top underneath, black leather trousers and black knee-high buckled boots. It's surreal looking at her now when the last time I saw her she barely reached my chin in height but now she is taller than me.

When we finally reached Midgar they pushed me out the back of the truck onto the thick cement floor below. I struggled to get my feet under me but paused when I saw a delicate, black gloved hand reach down to help me up. I looked up at her face in shock before hesitatingly taking her hand. She was stronger than she looked, having no difficulty in lifting me to my feet.

She didn't smile at me but when she looked into my eyes I could tell that she knew who I was and she wanted to help me in whatever way she could.

I smiled for the first time in years that day.

**Moment Four**

It had been months since I was moved into Midgar and not once had I glimpsed let alone seen Serafina. Oh I heard about her all the time from Hojo's continued mumbles but I never actually saw her in person.

Maybe I was deluding myself, when I was in the transport bay, that day when she helped me stand, maybe she didn't remember me at all and it was just pity and understanding I saw in her eyes. Maybe it wasn't real at all and I just dreamt that she helped me, it wouldn't be the first time I dreamt about her, hallucinated about her, maybe all those years under Hojo's 'care' had finally turned me around the bend.

So many maybes so little answers.

**Moment Five**

Time seems to be moving in jumps now of what I can remember and what I can't. There are times that I wake while I am on Hojo's table with him hovering over me, laughing when I scream, but then there are the moments when I think that all of that is just a never ending nightmare.

Serafina might have come to visit me but I can't be sure. That could have been a dream too but at least these are nice dreams; dreams about her coming to see me at night when the lights are off and no one walks the corridors. She walks up to the window of my cell and looks in at me for a few moments frowning in thought as if she needs to remember who I am, after a few minutes though she opens the door and sits down at my side. She sits and runs her fingers through my hair; I know I can trust her so I never recoil from her gentle touch.

I think she cries sometimes.

_Why is she crying? I don't want her to cry! I have to help her she shouldn't be sad. _

I reach up and touch her hand with my own and bring it down so that it rests against my cheek, then I reach my own hand up and do the same to her. We used to do this when we were younger, when she was upset after being put in the cell with me after Hojo had finished with her for the day. It always calmed us both down.

When she calms down she leans down and kisses my forehead with her rosy lips before standing up, my arm follows her in desperation for her not to leave me alone again in this cold cell, every time she gently pats my hand, pushes it back towards me before leaving for the night.

I always cry in despair when she leaves until I fall into a restless sleep.

This carries on every night for a long, long time. Sometimes she talks to me but I can't answer her no matter how hard I try. She talks about her day, about her missions and about her friends Angeal, Genesis and Zack the puppy. I think it's good for her to have someone to talk to and so I listen attentively comforting her as best I can when she needs it.

**Moment Six**

The experiments have finally stopped. They moved me into a glass cell today to keep me out of the way I think.

Hojo seems to have finally lost interest in me, thank Gaia.

It takes longer than normal for Serafina to find me tonight; I don't think she knew about the move. She isn't alone tonight though, she has three others with her. A tall red head, a burly brunet and a stocky raven; these must be the friends she talks so much about.

"Cloud," She smiles at me slightly in greeting after opening the door. She walks in with the others following her.

I smile back in greeting.

"Cloud these are the friends I told you about. I told them about you and they asked to meet you." She motioned for the three men to kneel down like she was. "This is Angeal," she gestured to the burly brunet with the huge sword strapped to his back, "This is Genesis," next she nodded at the red head and finally she waved her hand over at the raven haired youth who looked to be about half her age, "and this is Zack, Angeal's student."

I have never met this many different people at once before. I blink at them blankly trying to understand why they are here intruding on my time with Serafina.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. The three men in the room looked at her shocked with her gentle tone of voice. "It's raining outside today; I know how much you like the rain."

I do indeed like the rain; it has been such a long time since I felt the water from the sky on my skin. It would be nice to feel it again.

I tried telling her but all that escaped my mouth was a series of moans and gurgles, I could feel my saliva running down my chin because of my efforts.

Angeal smiled sadly as he reached over with a handkerchief to rub my chin clean for me. I smiled in thanks, my cheeks blushing with shame.

"Can he understand us?" Zack whispered taking my hand gingerly into his warm calloused palm. I have never seen such kindness from so many people; the only people who ever showed me such kindness were Serafina, Vincent and the kind lady who gave birth to Serafina.

"He can understand us all perfectly, he just can't reply." She answered coldly, all expression wiped off of her face as she looked at him. I moaned in distress never wanting to see that look on her face ever again. "I think you should go, too many people upset him, and I don't want him to hurt himself."

They all nodded with shocked expressions on their faces, I can't understand why they would be shocked is it really so rare to see her express her emotions?

Once they left Serafina brushed my hair off my forehead gently. She is always so gentle with me. It feels as if she is the one always taking care of me when it should be the other way around.

"One day we'll both be free and when that day comes I promise I'll always look after you." She vowed as I squirmed on my bed.

_No._ I promise silently. _I'll look after you just like I did when we were children. I'll always keep you safe._

**Moment Seven**

I panic.

_Why hasn't she come tonight? Where is she? Is she hurt? Does she need me? I have to find her!_

I hobble over to my cell door and kick it as hard as I can, the glass door shatters, the pieces fall to the floor with a satisfying crash. No alarm goes off though I think they think that they have beaten me down enough that there isn't need for the alarm anymore, they would have been right. If it wasn't for the fact that my precious Serafina was missing the door would have been enough to keep me locked away.

I hesitate briefly before stepping out of my cell and into the corridor, this is the first time that I have ever left it by myself, one of the scientists were always with me whenever I had to leave it.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I have to find her. I have to keep her safe.

The corridor was deserted not a soul to be seen it was eerie how quiet it was. I walked past multiple doors some of them open but most of the securely shut to keep whatever was in there in.

When I got to the end of the corridor I came to a more secure door made of thick metal with a large number painted on the door, my hand shaking I pressed the button to lift it so I could pass. Slowly it lifted but as soon as my foot stepped over the threshold a piercing siren wailed through the air making me clap my hands over my ears in panic.

Crying out I ran out of the room and down the stairs.

Down.

Down.

Down.

They seemed as if they were never ending, more and more stairs.

I screamed loudly when a shot rang past my shoulder and into the wall ahead of me, quickly looking behind me I could see soldiers running down the stairs catching up to me, guns clutched in their hands.

I carried on running.

Serafina needed my help.

I smiled when I saw the end a single door at the bottom of the stairwell, most likely leading to the outside world. I paused in shock. This would be the first time that I would be going out without Serafina since I was a small child. I didn't know if I could do it.

I cried out in pain when a bullet caught me in the shoulder, this pushed me to run the rest of the way to the door and throw it open in panic.

I moaned in despair when I came face to face with what must have been half of the Shinra army, all of their guns pointed at me, loaded and ready.

Behind me I could hear my pursuers corner me from behind.

I was trapped.

"No! Wait don't fire!" I heard a shout but the soldiers only heard the word 'fire' and a hailstorm of bullets came firing towards me, lodging themselves into my skin, into my bones and muscles.

I screamed in agony.

"NO!"

That's Serafina!

I cried out in happiness my breath whooshing out of me when my legs would no longer hold my weight dropping me to the floor. The bullets finally stopped. I looked up painfully seeing Serafina standing above me like some sort of avenging angel her arms spread wide protecting me.

"Stop!" she ordered. "I will take it from here, you are all dismissed!" she barked and without waiting to see if her orders were listened to she reached down and took me into her strong arms, carrying me away from them and out into the city.

**Moment Eight**

I must have blacked out for a while because the next thing I remember is waking up in a church surrounded by white and yellow flowers.

I took a deep breath inhaling the scent, wincing in pain when it pulled at my injuries. I looked to my side to see a pretty girl with braided hair and a blue dress walk away from me down the aisle towards a pair of double doors.

"Cloud?" I looked over to my other side to see Serafina kneeling next to me, tears slowly streaming down her porcelain skin.

My beautiful Porcelain Angel.

"Serafina." I rasped happily, my hand reached up to my throat in shock.

"That girl, the ancient, she healed your throat temporarily so we could say our goodbyes to each other." She smiled down at me happy to finally hear my voice again.

"I'm dying aren't I." I didn't say it as a question because I already knew it was my time. It was strange that I wasn't really that sad about it, I was just happy that Serafina was alright.

She nodded slowly, her hair falling into her face and over her shoulders so that it cascaded around me in a silver curtain. "Your wounds are too severe to heal properly."

"I'm glad you're alright." I smiled.

"Cloud I'm so sorry." She whispered caressing my check with her smooth hand.

"Why?" I asked confused, I didn't like to see her upset. Was she crying over me?

"I failed to protect you. I swore I would keep you safe."

"That's funny, I promised myself the same thing." I mumbled to myself causing her to huff a laugh.

"Oh how I've missed you." She whispered smiling softly down at me. I'm happy she's here in my final moments. I had always thought of my last moments filled with agonised screams and tortured cries coming from my lips and Hojo's face the last I would ever see. To see Serafina hovering over me instead was like heaven to me. Her beautiful green cat slit eyes gazing at me watery with her unshed tears; she had never looked so beautiful.

We gazed at each other for a long time committing this moment to memory.

"Never bottle up your feelings so much, Sera. You will become so lonely it will drive you mad. Don't turn out like me whatever you do. Don't let them control you more than they already have." I warned her looking deep into her eyes. It would break me to see her manipulated so much into something so terrible that she wouldn't be able to escape from it.

She nodded all trace of tears gone from her face.

"You've always been there for me whenever I needed you, Cloud." She murmured. "Thank you."

Slowly she leant down and pressed her soft lips to mine. I sighed in bliss, there couldn't be any better way to leave this world than to have the one you loved lips on yours.

**The End**

_AN: This is actually the longest One-Shot I've ever done I'm rather proud of myself. Please review and if you want to request something too don't hesitate to ask!_

_ As a girl's name is a variant of Seraphina (Hebrew), and the meaning of Serafina is 'Burning ones'._


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